


Northern Pines

by Eppie (eppiewrites)



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-10
Updated: 2013-02-10
Packaged: 2017-11-28 19:45:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/678209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eppiewrites/pseuds/Eppie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pacifica Northwest always gets what she wants. But, what happens when she finally wants something that she knows she can't have?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blacking Out the Friction

Pacifica Northwest had been the hottest thing in Oregon since sliced bread.

And of course, being born from a rich family was never a bad thing in her case, especially one that happens to be related to the great founder of the entire town of Gravity Falls, so throughout her life Pacifica had always been given a great deal of attention.

It was obviously easy for the young girl to obtain friends, not make friends.

Obtain them.

Because when your great relative is named the founder of a small town where news spreads quick, you will not go unnoticed. But just because Pacifica had friends, didn't mean they actually liked her. For the most part they just wanted to stay on her good side, because rich kids in small towns have quite a lot of power.

Also due to the fact that Pacifica was always and had always been molded to want. And what ever she wanted, she got with no further questions asked.

And tonight, Pacifica wanted that crown more than anything.

The only reason she even showed up to such a run-down place was because it was where everyone in town was at. And if there's a party, Pacifica will always make sure she'll be the life of it. And what would give her more attention than a huge, shiny, golden crown placed atop the head of the richest kid in Gravity Falls.

In fact, she probably didn't even need to compete for it! She knew no one would be brave enough to try to take that crown from her!

She cooly strutted up to the annoying buck-toothed guy behind the keyboard. Oh, what was his name? Jorge? Not like it mattered anyway. She took a quick glance back to make sure her posse was following close behind. You never know when you need them to help you gang up on an insecure girl.

She took off her shades and casually flipped out her foundation case to make it seem like she wasn't too interested in that party crown.

"I'll take that. Thank you very much..." Pacifica held out her hand impatiently waiting for the crown while making sure she didn't make any sort of eye contact with that buffoon behind the keyboard.

"I can't just give you the crown," The idiot held up the crown.

_What? I always get what I want!_

"It's sort of a competition thing..." The man said.

With a quick eye roll Pacifica picked up the microphone nearby and clearly spoke into it. She wanted everyone to hear this.

"Honestly, who's gonna compete against me?" She stated confidently into the microphone.

She did a quick turn and her moment just got better.

Of all people to be in her line of vision, it had to be the two biggest rejects of the entire town. Oh, this night was just going to keep getting better and better.

"Fork girl?" She pointed at the short, near-sighted, asian girl with forks taped to each of her fingers.

"Lizard lady?" She laughed, gesturing towards the bigger girl with the deeper voice and the gross reptile on her shoulder.

This would just be too easy!

She let out a loud laugh that echoed throughout the dance floor, she gave a quick glance to make sure her two friends were joining her in her mockery. She turned back around towards the DJ table and held out her hand again, he would definitely give her the crown now! No one would want to be humiliated if they spoke up.

_Once again, I get what I wa-_

"HEY! I'll compete!" A bushy-haired, brunette girl shouted, appearing out of nowhere.

_This chick must be out of her mind! After the display I made, how could she have the audacity..._

Before Pacifica could even make one of her cutting remarks, the wide-eyed girl had already turned eagerly toward her with a giant smile spread across her face. She had braces.

_Ugh, brace face._

The girl held out her hand excitedly.

"I'm Mabel!"

Like Pacifica was going to play this game fair... HA! There's no way on earth she would shake that girl's hand.

"That sounds like a fat, old lady's name." She replied looking Mabel up and down with her classic smirk growing across her face.

Mabel continued to smile.

"I'll take that as a complement!"

Pacifica didn't even know how to respond to such an odd reply. So, the young blonde just smiled again.

"May the better partier win." Pacifica replied before making a dramatic exit with her posse.

After fading out into the darkness of the crowded dance floor, Pacifica made sure to break away from her small group. She needed to grasp what just happened.

Did someone really just volunteer to compete against her? Who does that?

_I've never seen her around here before..._

It was true, she knew almost everyone in this town, even if not by name, she could still remember their faces.

But, that girl. Mabel? Never heard of her or seen her before.

Pacifica laughed to herself, no wonder she volunteered to compete! She had no idea who she was dealing with.

And yet she stared deep into the crowd of the dance floor while beats of the dance music drummed throughout her ears. Young Mabel was moving to the sounds, fluid in every beat, her loose sweater hanging to the side and the large loops of the bow on her head bouncing, as if keeping the rhythm of her dance.

Gravity Falls was a nice town, but the people there were not the most appealing. This was one of the things that also had boosted Pacifica's popularity, her looks. She was pretty and she knew it, and she would always tease the young boys who would ask her for her number or to go on a date with them. Truth was, she didn't care for the boys in this town or anyone in this place, really. And she knew Mabel wasn't from this place because she wasn't messed up like everyone here was.

The blonde knew that girl wasn't from here because Mabel was beautiful and Mabel was confident.

And there is only room for one beautiful and confident girl in this town.


	2. You Are a Tourist

"Mabel comes out strong! Watch out Pacifica!"

A voice announced through the room, snapping Pacifica back into her reality. She looked around to find her two friends, she didn't see them anywhere so she mingled her way to the center of the dance floor.

Pacifica busted her moves diva style, making sure everyone on the floor got a good look of her dancing, which was expertise. She looked over at the sweater-wearing brunette, upbeat and smiling almost as if she was dancing to a song in her head. The blonde furrowed her eyebrows and continued dancing her way into the center of the room.

_Don't make eye contact or she'll bother you again._

Pacifica let out a few shouts to show the crowd she was having fun. Because if she doesn't have a good time, nobody does. But she looked at Mabel again. Big mistake, Mabel had caught her glance and began hopping towards her. Literally hopping, trying to keep her feet inside the tiles of the floor.

"HEY!" The bow-wearing girl waved, she hopped over to Pacifica, alternating feet each tile she stepped on.

"We forgot to shake hands! May the better partier wi-AH!" Mabel was interrupted as Pacifica quickly snatched her by the collar of her sweater.

"Listen to me and listen good," Pacifica hissed, staring into Mabel's wide, startled eyes. "I don't like you. I never will like you. I will never be your friend. And that party crown is mine. So don't bother trying to talk to me or be nice to me. In fact, don't even look at me. Got it?"

Mabel smiled again.

"Well, that's a shame. I think you're really cool!"

The blonde scoffed as if offended by Mabel's complement. She didn't know what to say, so she continued to stare piercingly at the bushy-haired girl. And took a quick glance down into the sweater of the girl she still had a grip on.

"Aw, looks like someone has a pancake chest!" Pacifica laughed, letting go of Mabel's sweater.

Mabel just smiled even wider.

"I have pancakes on my chest? I love pancakes!" Mabel yelled into the air before looking down her sweater and laughing.

"Silly goose!" She playfully punched the blonde girl's arm. Pacifica scowled as Mabel touched her.

"I don't have pancakes! I wish I DID though!" Mabel smiled, her braces shining.

"You're kidding me..." Pacifica narrowed her eyes.

The girl's unyielding optimism was getting on her nerves, normally at this point any other girl would have run off crying, not smiling and laughing like this weird girl was.

"You're so funny! Good luck, Pacifica!" She gave the blonde a thumbs up and a wink before disappearing into the crowd. The blonde's eyes followed her as she made her way back to those two dorks she had made fun of earlier.

_She can do better than those idiots. Actually... no, she can't._

"Hey, we were looking all over for you!" Pacifica turned around to see her two friends show up behind her.

"It's almost time for the karaoke contest!" The red-headed friend said excitedly. "You should totally sing, you'll definitely win the crown then!"

"You're so right!" The blonde replied, walking towards the stage where the karaoke machine had been placed and where an acne ridden girl was butchering the song "Disco Girl". Pacifica pushed her way to the front of the line and her two friends helped shove off anyone who tried to cut in front of her.

After the girl finished her horrible cover of the song, the crowd politely applauded as she left the stage and as the blonde diva stepped on to it.

"To my adoring fans, I will be singing Always Means Forever!" Pacifica spoke into the microphone proudly, as the musical interlude began to play.

"Look Mabel, it's Pacifica." Candy said, pointing across the dance floor at the stylish girl on stage.

Mabel turned around and listened to the song. She pulled Candy by her hand, being careful not to poke her hand on one of the forks on the short girl's fingers. She led Candy to the front of the stage and met up with Grenda. The silly girl looked up at the blonde as she sang.

"Wow! She's pretty good!" Mabel whispered to Grenda.

"You're probably way better, Mabel!" Grenda said in her naturally deep voice, smiling.

"Aw shucks!" Mabel replied, blushing.

The curious brunette looked up at the blonde and wondered how nice it was, being super popular. Mabel had always been likable at school, but never as popular as Pacifica. She gazed up in her own childish wonder at Pacifica. Her hair was perfect, her clothes were expensive-looking, and she knew how to do her make-up quite well, it was obvious that Pacifica was very pretty. Mabel shook her head, if only that girl was pretty on the inside too.

Pacifica knew she was doing great, she had stayed on key and remembered all the words to the song. There was nothing that was getting between her and that crown this time. She looked down to her adoring audience, and almost choked mid-breath as her eyes met with the bright, wide ones of the brunette she was trying to beat. And as she hit the final note she knew that she had gone off-key. Damn that Mabel, she was supposed to stay away and yet again, she just pops up out of nowhere to ruin her chance at winning. After the applause she felt better, at least she got recognized for her talent. She smirked again as she walked offstage towards Mabel.

"Pacifica pulls ahead!" The buck-toothed DJ announced.

"Try and top that!" The blonde laughed as she smacked the microphone against Mabel's level chest to humiliate her more.

Of course Mabel didn't catch on, so Pacifica spat an insult at the lizard girl standing next to her.

"Oh, by the way Grenda, you sound like a professional wrestler." She laughed as she walked away, proud of her snarky comment.

Mabel frowned as Grenda grew angry and talked about putting the snob in a head lock. Pacifica shouldn't make fun of people like that, now she had to win the contest to prove being mean doesn't earn you anything.

"It's not over 'til it's over, sisters!" Mabel exclaimed to her two new friends.

She ran up to the stage and asked for the most crowd pleasing song. "Don't Start Unbelieving", the one-hit wonder of the 80's began playing.

Pacifica snickered, there was no way sweater girl was going to make this song sound good. Pacifica and her friends continued laughing until they couldn't hear themselves over the deafening cheers of the crowd. Pacifica looked towards he stage to see Mabel attempting to do a flip and ending up face-planting the stage, yet somehow that made the crowd wilder.

This was too much for the popular blonde, she could feel her blood-boiling. She had to get out and get away from this mess, there was no way she was going to let that microphone-swinging nuisance take the party crown from her. At this point, it wasn't even about the crown anymore, it was about beating Mabel at this contest.

She stomped up the stairs and swung open the bathroom door, stepped inside, and slammed it angrily behind her.

_Mabel CAN'T win. She CAN'T._

She grabbed the nearest towel and let out a loud scream into it, muffling her hateful screech and throwing the towel to the ground when she was finished. She heaved loudly and looked into the mirror above the sink.

Her face was wet, she was crying.

_No, stop it! Stop crying! Pacifica Northwest, the richest girl in Gravity Falls does NOT cry! STOP IT._

She heard a knock on the door.

"SOMEONE'S IN HERE!" She shouted.

Why was she making such a big deal of this? She's always managed to put the new girls in their place. Why couldn't she with Mabel? She stared into the mirror and fixed her mascara.

"I hate you, Mabel. I hate your face, your cute brace face. I HATE IT!" She threw the mascara tube at the mirror, leaving a thick black smudge on it.

_Cute brace face? What am I even saying? What am I even feeling?_

"Oh no..." She shook her head at her reflection.

_NO._

Pacifica quickly dismissed that thought before she could even let it fully develop. There was no way she liked Mabel, especially not like that. She let out an angry scoff at her reflection before finishing the rest of her make-up. There's only one pretty girl in this town and it's herself.

She gritted her teeth and shoved open the bathroom door, storming back on the dance floor. She needed to get partying or else there was no chance at her beating Mabel.

"Where were you, girl?" Her friend asked her as she joined them on the dance floor.

"Bathroom." She replied curtly, looking down at her feet only to find Mabel doing a strange hopping dance on her hands all over the cleared dance floor.

"I should kick her." Pacifica heard one of her friends say.

Once again, Pacifica quickly separated herself from the crowd.

"Pacifica!"

_NO. NO. NO._

She turned around only to end up staring face-to-face with the girl she had tried to avoid. Staring face to face with her large eyes, her dark chestnut hair, the adorable bow tied on the top of her head, those cute braces that had a sort of wholesome charm to them, those silly leg warmers that seemed to flow with the rhythm of her body when she had danced, and everything else about her that made her beautiful and real.

_Stop it, Pacifica. You don't like her. You hate her. You can't like anyone besides yourself._

"Pacifica, I just wanna say that whoever wins, it's been a super fun party." Mabel held out her hand once again.

_Stop being so nice to me, just stop._

"Aw, it thinks it's gonna win," Pacifica replied in a condescending tone. "Hey, did you hear that? People clapping for the wierd girls? Yeah, me neither." The young blonde mocked as she walked away.

It was time for the voting and Mabel was not going to win, not if Pacifica had anything to say about it. As they both stepped on the stage and faced the crowd, Pacifica felt a sudden anxiety. One that could only be made better with another sly insult or a demeaning remark.

She turned to Mabel and sarcastically wished her luck.

Mabel just smiled.

 _Stop smiling. You're a loser. You have nothing to smile about_.

As the applause roared naturally for Mabel, Pacifica began to worry.

_Wait! Why am I worrying? I'm the most powerful person here, I can MAKE them clap for me._

As the audience did minimal cheers for her, she gave a cold and effective glare across the audience. She glanced back, it still wasn't enough! She fished a dollar out of her pocket and gave it to the only person besides her friends, who hadn't clapped for Mabel, the sleeping homeless man on the bench. Depressing, but still affective. And with his added applause, Pacifica had won the crown!

And finally, that pretty little Mabel didn't smile.

Pacifica placed the crown atop her head, and in all her excitement, invited everyone to the party at her parent's boat. She was then carried by a mob all the way to her house. The chants of her name ringing in her ears

As they reached her house, Pacifica quickly retreated to her room as the rest of the party guests began jumping into the lake nearby. Her two friends followed her.

"Awesome, Pacifica! You got the crown, I knew you would." One friend chirped

"You should wear it everyday." The other one chimed in.

"Heh, yeah." Pacifica smiled examining herself in the mirror with the crown on her head. The victorious feeling she had earlier had began to die out, leaving her with this weird hollow feeling.

"You guys can go back to the boat, I just have to fix my make-up." The blonde lied.

"Alright! See ya later, sister." Her dark-haired friend replied as she and the red-head exited.

Pacifica took the crown off her head and turned it over.

_Made in China. How predictable..._

Pacifica began wiping off her make-up with a hand towel nearby. Truth is, she didn't feel like partying anymore. Which was odd, she got what she wanted didn't she? She spent the whole time at that party making sure she got what she wanted. But it all seemed like a waste now. She looked into the mirror at her refection once again.

_What did you really want?_

Pacifica only knew one thing for certain, she still wanted something.

And this time it wasn't the crown.


	3. Your Bruise

Pacifica Northwest tossed and turned violently in her sleep that night.

Her dreams, the only things she couldn't control. They were the things that let her see what she hid away. She loathed them, those dreams.

_"Grab my hands," The girl said. "Let's dance."_

_Rhythm and movement, bring our bodies closer within the darkness of the dance floor. The movements, they were hypnotic._

_"Silly, come closer." She said._

_I hesitated and then stepped closer to her._

_"Closer..." She whispered._

_I stepped closer and closer until we were inches away._

_"Silly goose..." She cooed before she closed her eyes, hooked her arms around me, and pressed her lips against mine in a warming, sweet-_

The blonde abruptly woke up, sitting up from her piles upon piles of fluffy blankets. She rubbed her eyes weakly and stared out the window across her room, slowly forgetting the dream she just had as it faded back into her unconscious mind.

However, in a bed much farther away from Pacifica's, laid Mabel also having a very restless dream. Although her dream was more about getting chased by millions of tiny flesh-eating hamsters and only having a pin wheel as self-defense, it was still a very terrifying dream nonetheless.

Mabel had just spent most of her night dancing her feet off with her two newfound friends. They ended up having a slumber party in which they did hair and nails, told ghost stories, and stayed up late looking through boy magazines. While they were looking through the hottest new celebrities and boy bands, she just had to share her weird boy experiences with her friends. Of course, they were a bit skeptical when she said the first boy she dated ended up being a bunch of gnomes and the other boy who became infatuated with her tried to cut out her brother's tongue.

Well, they either believed it or dismissed it as one of Mabel's weird stories. Either way, the silly girl didn't seem to mind and had tons of fun anyway.

As Mabel woke up from her scary, hamster-filled dream, she quickly remembered the night before and the party crown contest.

_That crown would have looked super cool with my sweaters._

Although Pacifica had been constantly mean to her and went out of her way to make sure Mabel didn't win, she still thought she was pretty cool and just wasn't very good at being nice to people.

Mabel looked around the living room where she had camped out with her friends. Candy and Grenda were still asleep, but that lizard of Grenda's was wide awake.

"Hello Mr. Lizard!" Mabel said happily to the lizard.

The lizard continued to stare off into space.

"You're right! Today is a great day!" Mabel replied to the lizard, laughing afterwards at her own silly one-sided conversation. She couldn't wait for Grenda to wake up so she could tell her about her brilliant talk with the lizard.

Eventually, Grenda and Candy did wake up and Mabel told them about her conversation with the lizard. Grenda found it humorous whereas Candy began to deeply ponder if lizards could actually understand human beings. Within a few minutes, Candy had received a call on her cell phone from her parents, saying they would pick her up soon to try on her outfit.

"Outfit for what?" Mabel asked curiously.

Though it seemed neither of her friends heard her, so her question went unanswered. It didn't seem to bother Mabel though, she was already becoming distracted by Grenda's pet lizard again.

"Grenda, my parents want to know if you want a ride home as well." Candy said to Grenda, still holding her cell phone.

"Sure Candy, your parents rock!" Grenda answered in her deep voice.

After Candy had gotten off the phone, the girls all began to clean up the mess of nail polish, bobby pins, and magazines from last night.

"This was such a blast, you guys!" Mabel stated while picking up a tube of pink nail polish. "We have to have another awesome slumber party like this soon!"

"Of course, Mabel! This sleepover was like, the best I've ever been to!" Grenda proclaimed.

"Yes, this sleepover was excellent!" Candy added, zipping up her backpack.

A few minutes later, the girls heard the honk of a car horn from outside.

"Those are my parents, it's time for us to go," Candy opened the front door and Grenda followed shortly behind.

"Bye Mabel!" Candy and Grenda said simultaneously.

"Bye you guys!" Mabel waved exuberantly, watching her two buddies pile in the car and drive away. Mabel was just about to crawl back into her bed again, when she heard a loud growl from her stomach.

_Nachos._

Mabel had suddenly realized she was hungry, so she ran over to the kitchen and looked in the cupboard.

_No nachos here._

She turned around to find her brother, Dipper, rubbing his eyes and stumbling tiredly into the kitchen.

"Mabel, what are you doin'?" Her brother asked before stretching his arms and yawning.

"I'm looking for cheesy nachos, Dipper!" Mabel cried out, frustrated and hungry.

"Cheesy nachos?"

"Cheesy nachos!"

"Hmmmm."

"Hmmmm. Let's ask Grunkle Stan if he can get us some!" Mabel declared, pulling Dipper along with her.

They headed over to the store where Grunkle Stan was trying to scam a young couple into purchasing an obscenely priced "magic" yo-yo. They weren't buying it, though.

"Gruncle Stan!" Dipper shouted.

"Huh? What do you two want?" Stan asked, putting the yo-yo back in the chest pocket of his classic tuxedo outfit.

"Cheesy nachos!" Mabel cheered.

"Eh, alright. Business is slow today, anyway." Stan agreed in his usual gruff voice, grabbing his keys and closing up shop.

The three of them then piled in the car and went in search for cheesy nachos.

As this small quest took place, Pacifica Northwest had dressed herself up in an old-time, western outfit, still managing to make it look fabulous, and was preparing to announce the opening ceremonies of Pioneer Day, the day her great-great grandfather, Nathaniel Northwest, had founded the small town. The stage was set up for her speech right in front of the famous statue of the founder. It had also been set up for a photo shoot with her, her wealthy parents, and her purebred Golden Retriever.

She had felt much better this afternoon than she did last night or this morning, especially after she met up with her two friends to make fun of some of the girl's pioneer outfits.

"Hey, Rebecca! Nice outfit!" She called out to a short, stocky, freckle-faced girl who was wearing a patched up pioneer outfit and waiting in line for candle dipping.

"Uh, thanks Pacifi-"

"Did your  _blind grandmother_  sew it?" Pacifica jeered, her friends joining her in a hardy laugh.

Rebecca's face contorted, as if on the verge of tears.

"Try again next year, when you want to wear an actual costume, not some crudely stitched tarp." Pacifica continued, receiving two high-fives from her friends.

"Man, Pacifica! You are on a roll today!" Her dark-haired friend said as they walked off, searching for another victim.

After tripping a few clumsy boys and verbally abusing a very tall and lanky girl, the blonde and her friends decided to head back to the town center so Pacifica could start the commencement ceremony.

"Hear ye! Hear ye! Ye olde commencement ceremony is about to commence!" Sheriff Blubs announced to the large crowd gathering around the stage.

Pacifica walked up and gave the microphone a few taps before finally speaking into it.

"Howdy everyone! You all know me, Pacifica Northwest, great-great granddaughter of town founder, Nathaniel Northwest!" The blonde announced, standing picture perfect for the crowd to see.

"I'm also very rich!" She added out of a quick, narcissistic habit as the audience began to applaud.

"Now if you've got the pioneer spirit, we ask you to come on up and introduce yourself!" Pacifica continued, before pausing to look at her nails.

_I really don't want to deal with any idiots coming up onstage. Everyone here is an absolute half-wit._

She heard footsteps hurry up the stage steps.

"Our first newcomer is..." Pacifica turned and her expression dropped as everything flooded back into her memory.

The dance contest, the party crown, the bow, the movements on the dance floor, the crying in the bathroom, the painful screams of frustration, the mascara, the empty handshakes, she remembered it all.

"Mabel..." She fumed, venom in her voice.

"YEAH!" Mabel interjected, "Let's get this Pioneer Day STARTED!" Following her statement with a random, "pfffft" noise.

"Right guys?" She questioned before continuing. "USA! USA!"

The crowd replied enthusiastically, continuing the USA chant.

_In less than five seconds, this girl has ALREADY stolen my thunder! AGAIN!_

The blonde was going to get rid of this problematic girl for good, she had to.

"I'm sorry to break it to you, but Pioneer Day is for serious people and you look and act ridiculous," The wealthy girl taunted, "I mean, a puppy playing basketball?"

She examined the girl's sweater, looking at the adorable cartoon puppy holding a basketball in the air.

_That's really cute. SHE'S really cu- NONONONO._

Pacifica's teasing quickly turned into pure bitterness as she glanced to see her insults flying right over sweater girl's head.

"Are you always this silly?" The blonde spat at the girl out of true anger.

_"Silly goose..."_

Mabel had finally caught on that Pacifica was down-right insulting her, not just teasing. She clutched her sweater protectively.

"Hey... I can be serious!" She said defensively, desperately trying to scrunch up her face in some sort of serious expression, ironically making herself seem more silly.

Pacifica smirked and noticed the Mabel had nachos attached to her ears, and almost laughed at the girl's utter absurdity.

"You do have nachos hanging from your ears, hun." The blonde added in a demeaning manner, touching her own face in mock-sympathy.

The brunette quickly covered the cheesy nachos hanging from her ears, blushing with humiliation.

Pacifica laughed triumphantly, "Wow, I'm embarrassed for you," she said, taking the opportunity to touch Mabel's shoulder in false affection.

"Give her a hand everybody!"

Mabel's face had swelled up and the rich girl knew she had finally won, again. She turned away from the saddened girl and spoke brightly into the microphone with a dry, newfound success.

"Now who wants to hear more about ME?" She stated in an almost mechanic avidity as she felt the defeated girl leave the stage.

How easy it was for her to dismiss and humiliate people. It came as naturally to her as breathing did. In her mind, anything less than perfect was not worthy of her love and attention, there was no room for flaws. She almost wanted to see her tormenting as something to help these people, she thought if she tore them down, they would rebuild themselves into something that was perfect and fixed and unflawed, something that was just as worthy as she wanted to believe she was. Maybe she was looking for justification for the way she treated others, looking for a loophole, a way to twist the situation to make it look like she was the good person, the martyr, the saint.

Or maybe she was just a downright snob.

Obviously, Pacifica did not want to see herself in that light, she believed she was more than the superficial, fake, materialistic bully she had been made out to be.

And as the flash of the photographer's camera captured the smiles of the Northwest family, Pacifica had to tell herself one more time that they were perfect.

_We're perfect. I'M perfect, aren't I?_

But as many times the blonde told herself she was perfect, she still had that same hollow feeling of the night before. That feeling that made her physically sick, she hated that feeling. The feeling that flooded in her as soon as Mabel left the stage, the feeling she tried to cover and hide with a bitter victory. She hated it.

_I hate a lot of things..._

The girl turned to her mother who was sitting behind her.

"Mom. You know we are the best family, right? We're the richest and best looking family in this whole town." Pacifica said with an unnatural uncertainty to her voice.

"Well, of course we are dear. We didn't raise you to think any less, either." Her mother replied, fanning herself.

"And it's okay to be mean to others because we are better than them? And we shouldn't feel bad about it?"

"Well, only if we're truly better, which for the most part we are!" Her mother gave out a small chuckle. "But only those who aren't as rich and beautiful as our family is." Her mother continued, whipping out a compact mirror and proceeding to re-apply her make-up.

"But what if every time you made fun of a specific person, you started to feel weird and empty inside? What does that mean?"

"Well if you feel bad about it, then maybe you don't enjoy making fun of them."

"But  _why_  wouldn't I enjoy being mean to them, then?"

"Then you probably like them, dear. And you shouldn't be mean to people you actually like, or else you wouldn't have any friends!"

_Well, I DON'T feel bad! I have friends. I don't need more friends, I'm popular enough._

_Enough..._

_That's not right. Since when have I had enough?_

And as she walked off, she remembered the girl's face, genuinely hurt and humiliated in front of the whole town. These were the kind of moments that would highlight the blonde girl's day, but every time she remembered the girl's face on the verge of tears, her victory seemed just as cheap as the crown she won the night before.

_I wanted- no, I EXPECTED her to smile again._

_You cried in the bathroom, you haven't cried in years._

_Because I don't feel._

_Last night you felt a lot of things._

_It was because I wanted to win._

_And you did! But, you still are feeling a lot, aren't you?_

Pacifica could feel herself clenching her teeth, hard. This was not the time for one of her internal arguments, but she couldn't help it. She was fighting a losing battle with herself.

_I can't feel for people because... because I'm fake._

_I'm fake! I'm plastic and shallow and fake!_

_And what makes you come to this conclusion?_

_Because of her, that Mabel! She's real. She's everything that is real and what should be real, she can feel so easily, she can smile at anything, she doesn't HAVE to hurt people to invoke any emotion inside of her, she genuinely has this joy inside of her._

She's the one who is perfect.


	4. Transatlanticism

_"Wow! You really are a sad, dumb, little girl!"_

This was it, this would solidify everything, this would make sure she would never have to see her again. And she would never have to feel bad or upset anymore. Everything would fall back into its place, everything would be normal again.

"Hey Pacifica!" A young boy yelled after her as her family began to drive away.

As the car halted, the boy held up an old document in front of the window.

"Nathaniel Northwest didn't found Gravity Falls and your whole family's a sham. Deal with it." He said, handing the paper to her.

_What?_

"What?" Pacifica yelled in pure confusion, staring at the paper.

She looked out the window at the boy and his sister. They were nothing but trouble, both of them. After she thought she was done with them, and now this historical document! Her whole family wasn't special, they were like every other idiot in this town and it was all because of those two Pines kids who went out of their way to sabotage her!

_This CAN'T be true._

Everything in the Northwest family changed after that document was given to Pacifica.

The following week, Pacifica's mother laid in her bed all day in a deep humiliation, crying out how their family was a shame and everything that the Northwest family name had represented was all false. Her father had burned the documents himself to make sure no one else in Gravity Falls found out about their secret, all while mumbling about how the "people in charge" would keep their family's name safe.

Her parents had since then, attempted to move on from the situation, refusing to bring it up and staying in complete denial of it.

Pacifica was devastated.

Because when she really thought about it, she was useless. Completely useless. Her pride had been shattered, everything she had ever said or did had been based on her status and the attention she believed she was entitled to.

But who she was didn't mean anything now, she was never related to the founder of Gravity Falls and her family was nothing. What was she now? She had nothing to stand for, nothing to represent.

_"Deal with it."_

Pacifica felt her blood boil as she remembered the boy handing her the papers. It was all their fault, they just wanted to ruin her!

_They were jealous! SHE was jealous! I just know it!_

It all made sense to her, they did it out of pure envy. She gave a bitter laugh to herself in the middle of her empty room. Why else would they go out of their way to dig up dirt on her family?

Jealousy.

Pacifica smirked.

_Deal with it? Oh, I'm going to do just that._

Suddenly, Pacifica felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. She flipped open the cell and read the text her friend had sent her.

"Fair at Mystery Shack, u coming?"

Of course Pacifica would attend, she had a reputation to keep, as well as a secret. She also knew those troublesome twins would be there, and she had a score to settle with them.

_No, with MABEL._

The problem however, was that Pacifica couldn't call Mabel out in front of her friends or else they would know the blonde's secret. And that was the last thing she wanted them to know. It would be best if at some point she broke away from her posse to deal with Mabel. But for now, she was going to go to the fair with her friends and enjoy herself. Maybe she'd be able to ruin an annoying couple's date, that would be pure gold!

Well when they arrived, the fair looked absolutely horrendous and everything looked like it had been built in an hour. Pacifica was quite positive that she would be severely injured if she went on any of the rides. And not even ten minutes after the trio walked into the fair, Pacifica had already spotted Mabel leaning over the fence of a pig stable.

"Oh look!" She said loud enough for Mabel to hear, "Mabel here, found her  _real_  twin!"

She walked away with her friends who were echoing her triumphant laughs, it was all she could say now. She'd have much better insults for Mabel later.

After almost dying on a few rides and winning a free chicken that just ended up angrily pecking at her, Pacifica decided it was time to break off from her group and give that annoying girl a piece of her mind.

Except, Pacifica couldn't find her anywhere.

_Where did she go? If I don't find her, this whole evening will have been a waste!_

Suddenly Pacifica heard a splash, followed by an enormous roar of laughter. She turned her head to see what the commotion was.

She let out a huge laugh as she saw that Robbie kid. He was curled up on the ground grabbing onto his legs, which were being suffocated by his water-soaked skinny jeans. But her amusement was short-lived as she quickly spotted Mabel petting that stupid pig she was staring at earlier.

She knew there was too many people watching, she couldn't storm over to her and make a scene. Even though Pacifica always wanted everyone's attention, now was not the time. The blonde quickly ran over to her posse who were throwing darts at balloons in one of the game stands and missing them all terribly.

"Hey guys, I have to go, Dad just bought me a yacht.. so I have to go see if it's top quality." She lied, looking at her nails.

"Sweet," the red-haired girl said, not taking her eyes off her balloon target. "Let me know when we can party on it."

"Bye Pacifica." Her dark-haired friend said, eyes glued to her phone.

_Well, that was easy._

Pacifica knew what she had to do. She went over to the food stand, and bought about a dozen caramel apples.

_I'll get my revenge on that stupid, meddling Mabel and that dumb pig is going to help me!_

_Everything was perfect, PERFECT until she came along!_

Pacifica may have been raised by a wealthy family, but she knew her way around the forest like the back of her hand. Having lived in Gravity Falls all her life and years of pulling pranks in these woods, Pacifica was smarter than the townsfolk gave her credit for and she knew just where to go. She headed into the woods leaving a decent trail of caramel apples behind her

_What are you gonna do, Pacifica? You really think this will work? And if it does, what do you hope to accomplish?_

_Stop. It will work and it will be brilliant._

_Stop lying to yourself. What are you even going to say to her?_

_I'm..._

Pacifica stopped in her tracks, she didn't even think about what she was going to say.

_I'll say... uh... um..._

_..._

_Well, I could always just punch her I guess..._

_Except for the fact that the heaviest thing you've ever lifted was your purse._

Before Pacifica could walk any further, she heard a rustle. She looked around the deep of the forest to find the source. She froze and listened as hard as she could, cupping a hand around her ear.

_nk nnnk_

Pacifica turned slowly toward the trail of apples behind her.

_NNNK_

The sound became louder, closer.

"OIIIEEEENNNK!"

"Waddles, come back!" A familiar voice called.

The blonde squinted her eyes and looked through the thick of the forest with a smirk growing across her lips.

Luckily, she had stopped in an open area of the forest surrounded by a circle of thick pine trees, she dropped another apple and hid behind the nearest tree trunk, holding the last caramel treat in her hands.

"OIIIIIIIEEEENNK!" The pig was getting closer, and so was Mabel.

"Waddles!"

_What are you going to do? You have no idea, do you?_

She felt a rustle by her ankle. Looking down, she saw the little pig sniffing around for the caramel apple she held in her hands. Pacifica heard to crunch of the leaves, Mabel was right there.

_So close..._

Waddles?" Mabel said, after seeing her pig disappear behind a group of large pine trees.

The pig's ears perked up and Pacifica quickly dropped her last apple to distract it, again.

It worked.

She could her the crunches getting closer.

"Where did you g-AAAH!" Pacifica grabbed her by the collar of her loose sweater, just like she did the night she first met her. She stared at Mabel with a genuinely ugly scowl on her face.

"Pacifica!" Mabel spat, trying to pry the blonde's fingers off her collar.

"Did you think I was just going to  _forget_  about what you and your stupid brother did?" She seethed through her gritted teeth, tightening her grip on the brunette's sweater.

"You deserved it, Pacifica!" Mabel yelled, "You're just a bully and you deserved to be taken down a peg!"

"You wanted to take  _me_  down a peg? Do you know how much trouble you caused my family you nosy  _brat_?"

"I'm the brat?  _I'm_  the brat? Are you crazy? You're the real brat! And a spoiled one, too!"

Pacifica's eyes widened and her face contorted into something that looked like a scowl and a face that was on the verge of tears.

"I'm not! I just get what I want!" Pacifica retorted, letting go of Mabel's sweater.

Mabel laughed.

"You're so spoiled!" She laughed again.

"Stop it! You don't even know!"

Pacifica didn't even know what she was saying anymore. Her words had began to spill out of her mouth, all of her thoughts flowing off the tip of her tongue.

"You don't even know what it's like to want something so bad, so much. And you know that no amount of money in the entire world can get it for you!"

Pacifica's voice broke into a quaver and she could feel her eyes begin to sting, she ran her hands messily through her hair.

"And no amount of pleading, or begging, or stomping your feet will ever be enough and...  _nothing_ you do will ever be enough! And you can't... move on and you can't even...  _think_ straight or do what you want and everything just seems useless, including yourself... A-a-and you just feel... ripped apart. And you don't know how to deal with it or explain it because... you've never felt it before."

Tears began to travel down her cheeks, leaving an ugly stream of mascara behind them.

"And you just want to make it go away and just go back to being happy and normal. But you can't, you have no control of it and it's just so... horrible-"

She finally broke down into sobs, covering her face with her small hands, she knew Mabel would take this opportunity to leave her and run to tell her brother about this whole mess. She leaned against the trunk of the tree and slid down to the ground, burying her face in her arms

_Wow, I really am a sad, dumb, little girl..._

"I"m so _useless_ , so fake and useless..."

"No, you're not Pacifica..." She heard the girl say, "You're mean and rude... but, you aren't useless."

Mabel kneeled in font of the blonde girl.

"And I do know how it feels, kind of. I felt so sad... I wanted you to like me and I wanted us to be friends. And all I wanted to do was prove that I could be serious, like you! But, I guess I wasn't serious enough, I just couldn't be something I wasn't."

_You can only be real... so real..._

"Every day... I'm something I'm not. How... how can you be so real..." She glanced up at the kind brunette kneeling before her.

Her face, so beautiful and pure even in the quickening darkness of the woods. What she would give, to trace every corner of her face, it was everything that was truly beautiful.

_Give. When have you ever done that?_

"Just be yourself, I guess. If you do that, then you'll be sure to get what you want eventually!" Mabel smiled.

Pacifica looked up at her, her eyes almost pleading.

"No, I won't. I'll never get it, it's stupid... this is all just stupid..." She wiped her eyes with her wrist.

"No it isn't, maybe it's silly, but not stupid... whatever it is..."

"I couldn't tell you..."

"You don't have to."

"But I  _want_  to!"

Mabel laughed.

"Aha, okay. Then tell me, what do you want so bad?"

Pacifica froze.

_Well, aren't you going to tell her?_

Pacifica tried to speak, but just ended up making an empty croaking sound.

Mabel laughed, again and smiled.

_That smile, everything... so real._

"I want... I-I-" She sat up taking a deep breath. " I really... um."

She shifted to her knees, inches away from the brunette.

She placed her hands on the sweater girl's shoulders.

"Y-you can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Of course not! Your secret is safe with me!"

"I want..." Pacifica could feel her heart racing, this is not what she planned at all, not in the slightest.

"You're so suspenseful, you silly goose!"

_"Silly goose..."_

She locked her fingers around Mabel's back and quickly leaned forward, connecting them as she pressed her lips against the brunette's, desperately wanting everything, wanting  _her_. She squeezed her eyes closed, letting all her other senses take over, trying to make this clumsy kiss in the darkness of the woods into something,  _something._

After what seemed like hours, she pulled away from the shocked and terrified Mabel.

"I wanted you..."

And everything was silent after those words fell out, leaving her with nothing else.

Mabel lowered her head.

"I did it, didn't I?" Pacifica began, trying to defend what had just happened.

Mabel didn't reply.

"I was myself, you said if I was myself-"

"Pacifica..." She started, "Am I just something you...  _want_? Is that all I am to you? You treat me terribly because you  _want_  me? Have you ever thought... maybe I'd like you that way too, if you weren't so mean and cruel on the inside?"

"I..."

"You want me, but you don't like me or care about me?"

_What is she talking about?_

"I like you!" Pacifica defended frantically.

Mabel sighed and stood up.

"I can't blame you, you've probably never loved anybody besides yourself. You don't know how..."

Pacifica didn't know how to respond.

"It's getting late," Mabel said absently, as if her thoughts were somewhere else. "C'mon Waddles."

Her pigs ears perked up and quickly followed after its new owner.

Mabel turned around one last time.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." She said before disappearing into the darkness of the woods.

Pacifica buried her head into her arms and sobbed violently.

She did it, the mask was lifted, she was naked and vulnerable and there was nowhere for her to hide.

And for the first time in her entire life...

_I feel real._


	5. Sleep Spent

_"You don't even know!"_

That night was probably the most sleepless night Mabel had ever had in her time at Gravity Falls.

 _"..._ nothing  _you do will ever be enough!"_

Mabel rolled over to her side, her mind overstimulated and continuing to race with thoughts of what had happened that night.

_"...ripped apart."_

The room seemed so stuffy and hot, she rolled over again.

_"And you just want to make it go away..."_

She looked at the clock by her bed.

2:50 AM.

She sighed and sat up.

_"...and just go back to being happy and normal."_

Oh, how Mabel wished she could be happy and normal right now. She stared at her pig, Waddles sleeping soundly on the foot of her bed. She looked over at her twin brother in a deep sleep, probably having some innocent dream of taking Wendy on a movie date. They both looked so peaceful, she wished her mind would be at peace so she could enjoy a normal night of sleep.

_"Y-you can't tell anyone, okay?"_

She sighed again.

Someone who had thrived off the pain and sadness of others, how could they be the one who was truly weak? Mabel held her hand up to her mouth, still remembering the kiss, all the sadness, the uncertainty, the anxiety, and every fear she could taste on the blonde's perfectly shaped lips. She had honestly been taken aback. How could someone like Pacifica be in this complete and total infatuation with her. Pacifica, this girl who took every opportunity she could to tear her down and treat her so terribly. No, this couldn't be the same girl, not in the slightest.

But it was, and it almost made Mabel angry. And she usually never gets angry, she always believed it was best to approach everything with optimism and a sense of positivity. And maybe that's why she was so intrigued by Pacifica. Such cynicism, and so much hatred toward anyone who didn't fit her extremely slim standards. Surely one could not just be full of hate, there had to be a light in there somewhere, even if it was very small and faint. And Mabel was positive that's what she saw in Pacifica that night, she saw a light that was running low on oxygen, and needed to be fueled into something that burned and shone. Even if the fuel... was a kiss.

But what had bothered Mabel the most, was what  _she_ , herself had said.

_"Have you ever thought... maybe I'd like you that way too, if you weren't so mean and cruel on the inside?"_

She winced at the memory, she didn't mean to come off so cold. But Pacifica's ordeal had just left her so emotionally raw. And since when had she ever confirmed that she liked girls that way?

Well, now that she gave it thought, the last couple of "summer romances" she had turned out to be horrible failures that almost potentially got her and Dipper killed, maybe Mabel wasn't as boy crazy as she had thought she was. It would make sense, all those failed attempts to befriend Pacifica, even after she was so rotten to her. Maybe Mabel  _did_  like girls that way.

She dismissed the thought, she was only twelve after all, she didn't need to be thinking about these kind of things yet.

But she couldn't stop thinking about these things, about Pacifica and about the girl she met last night who looked like Pacifica, but couldn't have been.

Somehow in this deep thought, she had managed to walk herself to the bathroom and had been leaning on the sink in a transfixed stare into her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was a mess from all that tossing and turning she had done.

"Mabel, you need to stop it right now!" She said to herself in the mirror, she had grown accustomed to talking to herself. "Stop thinking about such serious things! You're silly, remember?"

She then proceeded to stick out her tongue and cross her eyes.

_Dipper would have thought that was funny._

She frowned.

_Why would Pacifica even like me in that way?_

She looked at herself in the mirror one last time before heading back to her room.

_"I can't blame you, you've probably never loved anybody besides yourself."_

Mabel hated that she said that, it isn't like her to insult people, at all. But it was true, Pacifica's love was selfish, because she had most likely never shared it with others.

_"You don't know how..."_

And oddly, she felt sorry for Pacifica. The girl probably didn't know any better, she didn't realize that people were not these objects she could just possess.

The brunette suddenly yawned and realized that she was finally tired. All this heavy thinking had worn her out, she needed to talk to Pacifica, maybe they could fix the mess that the blonde had caused between them. She rolled over to her left and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

A few miles from Mabel's bed, the young blonde had also been having trouble getting to sleep.

The hundreds of pillows that sat on Pacifica's king-sized bed had all ended up on the floor, along with her many layers of fluffy blankets.

_"How... how can you be so real..."_

She knew how to be real now, spill your darkest desires, lay them on the table for people to see and to judge. No wonder Pacifica had felt so fake, deep inside she was scared. She knew,  _knew_ that if people found out all these things about her, she was basically screwed. She never had anything to hide until she had met that silly Mabel and her brother, she was in a blissful ignorance along with the rest of this town.

_"Am I just something you... want?"_

She scowled. She hated to admit it, but Mabel was right, so right. Pacifica had never  _loved_  anyone before, well with the exception of her parents, but even that love seemed hollow.

_Let's get something straight, darling. Do you love her? Or are you just intrigued? Turned on? In some sort of lust?_

Pacifica shook her head and rubbed her eyes, she hated that self-doubt that always piped up during her most intimate thoughts, causing her to confuse and misinterpret everything.

All she did know at this point was that Mabel made her feel different, the very fact that Mabel made her feel anything other than contempt, as she usually felt, was interesting. She also knew that whatever she felt for the sweater girl was indeed romantic, why else would she have felt this dying need to kiss her-

Pacifica grimaced.

The kiss.  _Why?_  Why did she do that? The blonde had always made sure she never did anything that would potentially embarrass herself. It was so impulsive, what she did. And it came off so desperate, because it was! It was desperate and she knew it was. But she still didn't get it, why did she feel this need to confess to Mabel instead of just insulting her like she had planned to do?

She suddenly felt a strong nausea in her stomach, all this nervous thinking had began to make her feel sick, literally.

_I better go to sleep, before I end up puking._

And with that thought, Pacifica pulled up the few remaining blankets on her bed and drifted off.

_RING._

_RING._

_RIIIIING._

Mabel reluctantly opened her eyes after it felt like she just fell asleep. She was never very fond of the fact the Grunkle Stan felt the need to wake them up at 7:00 sharp everyday to clean up the shop before opening time, it was their summer break after all. It also wasn't very helpful that she had only gotten less than four hours of sleep last night. She rolled over and saw Dipper had just started waking up, though he probably wasn't in the least bit exhausted as she was.

He proceeded to stretch and get up, he paused and looked at Mabel quizzically. Usually, Mabel is already jumping up on her bed and calling dibs on the shower. Today, she looked like an absolute blob, who wasn't intending on moving anytime soon.

"Heh, okay... well, I guess I get the bathroom first today!" Dipper said aloud, waiting for a reaction from Mabel.

"Mmmkay..." Mabel said, pulling up her blankets and rolling over.

"Uh, aren't you gonna stop me?" Dipper laughed.

"Mrhhmm" Mabel made some inaudible reply.

Dipper shrugged and left to take a shower.

_Today is not my day..._

_RIIIIIING._

"BLAARRGH! Okay! I'm up!" She threw off the blankets and sat up in her bed. Now she had to wait for Dipper to get out of the shower for her to actually wake up. She rubbed her eyes furiously, and looked down to find Waddles oinking enthusiastically at her feet.

"Hahaha, Waddles! You always know what to say!" She smiled before getting on her feet and heading downstairs.

A similar ring had also started around this time, except it wasn't from a bell, it was from a digital alarm clock. It wasn't any less annoying, however.

The half-asleep blonde smacked the alarm clock as hard as she could before sitting up. She had no blankets on her bed, they had all fallen on the floor along with her five hundred pillows.

She slumped over to her private bathroom, taking a good look in the mirror as she did so.

Her hair was a horrendous, frazzled mess, along with her face that she thought looked absolutely unbearable without a heavy amount of foundation and eyeshadow. She turned on the faucet and splashed her face with the cold water, waking her up a bit. As she reached for her face cloth, her hand brushed past the party crown that had been left there since the night she won it. Why did she even keep it? It just brought back bad memories, memories of sobbing into the mirror, grabbing onto the collars of hand-stitched sweaters and handing money to the homeless out of an empty and parasitic generosity.

She turned the crown around in her hands, it had been much more admirable in the colorful lights of the dance party. In the bright revealing light of her bathroom she could see it for what it was, plastic and cheap.

_"You don't even know what it's like to want something so bad, so much. And you know that no amount of money in the entire world can get it for you!"_

She said that, didn't she? She looked at the crown. She knew that she could get a crown like this at the snap of her fingers, she could get fifty crowns like this if she wanted to. She didn't want the crown, no... she didn't  _like_  the crown anymore, but-

_I know someone who would._

Pacifica's eyes widened.

_Are you serious? Are you seriously thinking of giving her your crown?_

_Well, I'm not going to use it._

_You don't GIVE people things. You're selfish._

_Well, there's a first time for everything._

Pacifica thought it would be worth a shot, not because she wanted to be a more generous person, but she was also scared. Even though Mabel said she wouldn't tell-

 _"...you shouldn't be mean to people you_ actually  _like..."_

She remembered her mom tell her this a few weeks back. She winced. She  _did_ tell Mabel she liked her, even if it was spur of the moment. She had said a lot of things that night that were spur of the moment.

_Well you do like her, right?_

_Maybe..._

She imagined her actions being all over the news.

"BREAKING NEWS: Pacifica Northwest gives people things without expecting anything in return!"

She laughed at the thought. Knowing how boring this town was and how high her status is, it probably  _would_  make the headlines.

And now that Pacifica was thinking about it more, it would probably be good for her. Maybe she could find a real personality in this task, she wouldn't feel so fake anymore.

_Too much wishful thinking._

"Whatever," She finally spoke aloud, startling herself. "It's sweater girl, what's the worst that could happen?" She let out a small grin as she left the bathroom with the crown still in her hand.

She really didn't feel like making the chauffeur drive her. She usually never had a problem bossing him around, but she felt that she needed to head up to the Mystery Shack alone. Lucky for her, Gravity Falls is a relatively small town so the trek up there wouldn't take to long. However, she really didn't want to sweat in one of her fabulous outfits. So she changed into a simple BABBA tee-shirt and some tight sweats. Completely unstylish for someone of her status, but it was still early in the morning so she figured nobody of relative importance would see her. She decided to ride her bike up there, it was much more efficient than walking and having her peers potentially see her.

So the blonde road her bike up to the other side of the town with the crown hanging off one of the bike handles. As she reached the Mystery Shack, she knew there was no turning back now. She leaned her bike against the Pitt Cola machine by the door and peered inside. The store was still closed, Pacifica knew that. She squinted as she looked through the door again. This time she saw a small figure sweeping the floor. At that moment she realized how odd it would be to open the door and find Pacifica Northwest in a loose band tee-shirt and tight sweats, but she figured Mabel had seen her much worse last night, this was probably nothing. She softly rapped her knuckles against the door, the figure looked up quickly and walked towards the door.

It was Mabel's brother, whatever his name was.

Pacifica couldn't help but scowl. Why did it have to be him?

He opened the door and glared.

"What do you want Pacifica? You here to insult Mabel early in the morning? We already proved your family is a lie, why don't you just quit with the bullying." He said, his face hard.

"Well aren't you brave, looking out for your sister like that," Pacifica said sindely, "Almost, makes me wish I had a brother like that,  _almost_."

"What do you want?" He asked again coldly.

"I don't  _want_  anything. That's a very selfish word, you know.  _Want_. What I would like though, is if I could talk to your sister." Pacifica replied, smirking as she looked at her nails.

"Absolutely not. Haven't you already given her enough trouble?"

"I could see why you would think that... however, I am not her to pick on your sister, I swear." Pacifica held up her right hand up in a pretentious manner, as if making a legitimate promise.

"Why would I believe you? You've never done anything nice for my sister, all you have done is give her grief."

"Oh I beg to differ, Mabel's brother-"

"Dipper."

"Whatever. I beg to differ, maybe I haven't done anything nice. But maybe that's why I'm here now! Maybe my plan is to do something nice, did you ever think that one through, Mr. Detective?" Pacifica folded her arms.

"That's it! I'm so-"

"Dipper, who are you talking to?" A voice spoke from behind her irritated brother.

"Oh, it's just sham-family Northwest here to bully you some more!" Dipper said loudly, not taking his eyes off the blonde.

Mabel caught Pacifica's eyes from behind her brother, the blonde's expression was unrecognizable, she figured after the mess from last night that Pacifica didn't come all the way up here just to call Mabel a freak.

"Dipper, do you mind if me and Pacifica talked one-on-one for a little? I'll be fine, I promise." She said to her brother.

Dipper opened his mouth to say something but then shut it, he gave his sister a concerned look.

"It'll be fine."

He sighed and went to sweep the back of the store.

Mabel turned to Pacifica, she noticed how lazily dressed she was. It seemed a bit out of character for her, but Mabel dismissed it. She probably had a restless night of sleep, too.

"About last night..." Mabel started, "I didn't mean to come off so cold, I was just... well, shocked."

"It's alright. I said... a lot of stupid things." Pacifica replied, "I'm usually more collected than that..."

"We both said things we didn't really understand." Mabel sighed.

Pacifica froze up again.

_The crown?_

"I felt like..." Pacifica started, searching for the right words. She seemed to always forget them when she was alone with Mabel lately. "I felt like... I was, uh..."

She closed her eyes tightly as she said it.

"S-selfish."

She opened her eyes to see Mabel grinning widely, almost victoriously.

"I know." The brunette said.

"And it wasn't...  _fair_. So I decided, to make things uh... fair for you." Pacifica's dialogue was far from smooth now. She pulled the party crown off the handle of her bike and held it in both of her hands.

"This should be yours..." She said, avoiding eye contact with the sweater girl.

Mabel stared at the crown in surprise, she looked up at Pacifica.

"But that's yours! You won it!" Mabel said, heavily confused by Pacifica's actions. Was she being...  _nice_?

"I didn't win it. I cheated. It wasn't fair, you deserved to win..." She continued to look at her feet.

"I can't take it from you."

"Wh-why not?" Pacifica looked up, surprised.

"It just seems... wrong."

"N-NO!" Pacifica replied emotionally. "No, it's not! It's not wrong at all! Making fun of an adorable girl onstage in front of the whole town,  _that's_  wrong!" The word vomit was happening again.

"I'm sorry, about all those things I said! I was just so... afraid! I can't be nice to  _anyone_ , Mabel. People would think I was weak if I did that! And your just so... so  _confident_! You're not afraid of anything and you're so brave and I was just so _jealous_. I wanted to take it all away from you and keep it for myself..."

Mabel felt a huge pain in her stomach, she really felt for Pacifica. The poor girl was spilling her heart out to her, and she had never seen her look so  _vulnerable_  before. It was endearing, seeing her without the heavy make-up and expensive clothing. It really made her seem like a genuine person.

Pacifica continued.

"And you just did something to me. I never felt bad about anything, until you came along. Everything you did made me realize how fake and shallow I was. And I hated that, and I realized that I hated...  _me._ And I blamed you... I-"

Pacifica was suddenly cut off as Mabel pressed her lips furiously against hers, wrapping her arms around her slim and curved waist.

Mabel then broke the kiss and rested her chin on the blonde's shoulder.

"I forgive you." She whispered into her ear, embracing her and never wanting to let go.


	6. Underneath the Sycamore

The embrace that surrounded the young blonde was something that she found so comforting and intimate, something Pacifica had hardly ever experienced, more so let herself experience. She rarely hugged her friends or her parents unless she absolutely had to, but this hug right here felt so needed, so necessary. Pacifica's emotions were still a jumbled mess, as they had been for the last few weeks. Therefore, the blonde had still been trying to grasp what the sweater girl had whispered in her ear as she received the warming hug. Those three words, giving her this relief that she hadn't felt in a long time. This relief that destroyed and obliterated the hollow feeling that had sat in her stomach for so long.

Pacifica had never felt so vulnerable before, not since her family had been revealed as a complete lie. But even since then, she had never felt as exposed as she did right now in the arms of the kind-hearted sweater girl. The blonde slowly returned the hug and wrapped her own arms around the brunette's waist, feeling how small she actually was under her big and loose sweater.

"I'm so sorry..." She finally managed to speak into the girl's shoulder after what had felt like forever.

Pacifica pulled away to look at Mabel, she then looked down at the crown in her hands, she held them out to the brunette once again.

"I can't..." She looked at the blonde, almost saddened by the gesture.

"But it should be yours, you deserve it," She placed the crown on Mabel's head and stepped back. "It looks so much better on you."

It was true, the crown was much more complementary to Mabel's darker hair color and bold sweater patterns. The brunette touched the crown on her head and looked back at the apprehensive girl shifting her weight on each foot, waiting for Mabel's reaction.

"Well... if you really want me to have it, I guess I'll accept it." The brunette finally replied, still touching the crown and smiling.

Pacifica smiled, she didn't smirk or sneer, she genuinely smiled.

_I didn't know it felt so nice... to give._

"Um, Mabel. I think we started off  _really_  bad..." She continued, looking at her feet again.

"I already said I forgive you, dorkapotamus!" She punched her playfully on the shoulder.

"So... does that mean we're... friends?"

"Well, I don't think arch enemies give each other party crowns." The brunette glowed, she knew this could be the start of something different and interesting, she couldn't hold back her excitement of gaining a new friend. Maybe even a new potential love interest?

Pacifica laughed loudly, enjoying the time she was spending with Mabel. She suddenly felt another presence behind her. She turned quickly only to end up staring straight into the chest of her newfound friend's great-uncle. The same one who she had ordered the townspeople to throw tomatoes at while he had been trapped in the stocks on Pioneer Day.

"What are you doing here, kid?" The old man gruffly said. "We have a new policy, it's called 'No snobs allowed!'" Stan followed his statement with a loud laugh at his own great humor.

He looked at Mabel wearing the crown and then back at Pacifica.

"Ohoho no, you better not be here to poke fun at my great-niece!" Stan continued sternly, "You better leave, kid or I'll make Soos pick you up by your bratty little head-"

"You better watch your tongue!" The blonde spat defensively. "My father will take a wrecking ball to your shabby little store!"

Stan laughed. "Your lying daddy's gonna do that? HA! Over my dead body!"

"You make it sound like  _that_  won't happen anytime soon, old man." The blonde began to rebuttal as she headed toward the soda machine to grab her bike.

"Why you little-"

"Stop it!" Mabel yelled. "Grunkle Stan, Pacifica wasn't bullying me. In fact, we're friends now!"

Stan's face contorted into a look of unbelievable disgust as he turned toward the blonde.

"Friends? What is this, Opposite Day?"

Dipper quickly poked his head out the open door.

"Friends? How much Smile Dip did you have this morning, Mabel?" He laughed.

_I'm finally nice for once and they're disgusted?_

Pacifica's newly brightened face quickly fell back into its natural scowl.

_I'll give them something disgusting..._

"Obviously too much. Any  _sane_  person in this town would know I would never be friends with stupid, sweater-wearing  _freaks_." Pacifica jeered, avoiding eye-contact with the girl. She didn't need to look at her to know how much she had just crushed the poor girl's spirit.

"THAT'S IT! Get out of here Pacifica!" Dipper shouted, his face turning a dark red.

"Are you mad, detective? Did you lose your magnifying glass? Maybe your sister ate it like the dopey half-wit she is!" The blonde pushed herself up on her bike and rode off quickly, not wanting to look at any of them, or feel anything toward those horrendous Pines anymore.

_This is why I don't feel for people... I'm glad I remember that now..._

The day was beginning to warm up along with the blonde's temper. How could she have been so stupid? She should have known she wouldn't be able to just become pals with Mabel, not with her reputation.

Pacifica isn't nice.

Pacifica is a bully.

Pacifica will always be too good for you.

Pacifica is rich and powerful and you don't want to get on her bad side.

 _That_ was her reputation and there was no way she could change it.

She almost wanted to scream.

The wind blew her hair back. It trailed behind her, whipping around and around and surely getting tangled from how fast the blonde was now pedaling. She would never be able to change their mind, not the Pines family, not her friends, not anyone in this godforsaken town! She was stuck, trapped in this character she created for herself and if she tried to break it or tweak it her foundation, everything she had built up over her years, it would all crumple and come collapsing down on her pretty little head.

_Oh darling, you were doing so well..._

"SHUT UP!" She yelled breathlessly as she rode her bike up the hill on which her manor was located.

_People can change. You shouldn't have lost your temper._

"You think I don't know that?" Her pedaling slowed as she reached the tall gates that surrounded her manor. "You think I don't know that I'm an idiot?"

She walked her bike around to the back gate of her house, parking it and heading quickly up to her room. Ripping off her tee-shirt, she flung herself on her bed. The blankets felt cool and soft against her warm and bare stomach. She wanted to just melt into those blankets, melt away into some strange oblivion, never having to deal with another person or expectation ever again.

_Her with that crown, it was so... radiant._

She rolled over on her back, sharing the coolness of the blankets with it.

_I-_

_It hurts so much..._

She let her eyelids fall, and eventually escaped into her dreams.

The day had been another slow one at the Mystery Shack. After a few hours of no good business, Stan decided to have Soos show the kids around the old town arcade, hoping it would cheer them up, especially Mabel.

Stan however, being the money savvy man he is, decided later after spending over five dollars on the "Insert Token" game, that they should play a few games of poker so they wouldn't have to waste too much money on the old arcade games.

"King me!" Mabel exclaimed, setting down her two kings, giving her a four of a kind with the other two kings laying out on the table.

Soos, Dipper, and Stan groaned simultaneously, slamming down their cards.

They had been playing Texas Hold'em, no one had bothered to explain the rules to Mabel. Stan had thought he was a genius for just letting her play, knowing she probably would lose.

Mabel laughed, gathering up her huge winning of crackers.

"It's not fair, she doesn't even know what we're playing!" Grunkle Stan clamored.

"Go fish?" The brunette asked. She honestly had no idea what they were playing.

Her victory was shortly interrupted by the obnoxious sound of a badly tuned electric guitar flooding throughout the Mystery Shack. It was Robbie.

Dipper scowled, he hated Robbie. He always went out of his way to take Wendy away from him, it bothered him endlessly.

"Should I sick Waddles on him again?" Mabel asked, reaching her hand to pet her pig only to end up having him chew on the sleeve of her newly knitted, white sweater. "Woah!" She smiled. "Easy, tiger!"

Her brother stood up sharply. "I'll handle it."

Everyone laughed, Dipper was once again trying to prove himself as tough and brave. Mabel laughed, if only he could see that he already was.

Dipper was the smartest boy she knew, but smart to a fault. He was so over-critical of himself, so over-observant and over-analytical. He didn't know how brave he was, and that saddened Mabel. Even silly people get sad sometimes. He and Mabel had already had a difficult morning with Pacifica and Mabel had no idea where she stood with her now. One moment they were friends, very misunderstood friends and then the next moment it was back to hating each other. She didn't want to think Pacifica did it all on purpose, she wanted to think Pacifica was just being defensive under the teasing of her uncle. She wanted to believe it, but she just couldn't be sure.

But after the blonde's tearful apology, how could she just turn around and continue her tormenting?

Mabel frowned.

Her brother busted through the door frantically.

"What was I thinking?" He began to pace throughout the room, "I can't fight! I've never been in a fight before! Look at these noodle arms!" He held out his arms and wiggled them like limp noodles.

Mabel piped up after her uncle suggested bonking Robbie on the head.

"Boys, why can't you learn to hate each other in secret... like girls do."

Her great uncle began to laugh, as her mind drifted out again. She really did feel for her brother and all this deep thinking made her head hurt, nothing that mind-numbing television couldn't cure! And besides, one of her favorite shows was about to come on, "Why you Ackin' so Cray-Cray?"!

She flopped upside-down on the couch, she always found T.V. more entertaining when she watched it upside-down. She sighed.

"Poor Dipper. Hiding from Robbie, unable to face his fears..." She said aloud, the situation almost seemed familiar. Maybe Pacifica was afraid, maybe she, herself, was afraid, too. Maybe everyone was, she sighed again as her headache began to come back.

_"So... does that mean we're... friends?"_

_"Well, I don't think arch enemies give each other party crowns."_

Mabel had kept the party crown, if Pacifica was really still the same she would have taken it back, no further questions asked.

They weren't like Dipper and Robbie, Pacifica's hate couldn't be genuine, not after all had been said and done.

She had just finished a brief conversation with Grunkle Stan, who had made it obvious he was afraid of heights because of the fact he didn't own any ladders. This gave her an idea, an odd one, but an idea none the less. Maybe if she could get her great-uncle to face his fears, she could become brave enough to face her own!

_What could go wrong?_

Mabel then hurried to her room to find some high heels.

_BZZZRT._

_BZZZRT._

_BZZZRT._

Pacifica rubbed her eyes and rolled over to grab her cell phone. She had left it on her nightstand all morning and didn't even bother to check it when she got home. It was most likely flooded with text messages and missed calls.

She flipped open her phone.

"Pacifica, we need 2 tlk. Call me bck."

It was another boy she knew, probably trying to profess his love to her. A waste of her time, a waste of his own time. He should know that she would never go out with him, even if what he was doing was brave.

He was stupid.

She was stupid.

Love was stupid.

All love did for her was hurt her, and Pacifica hated being hurt. It only made sense, the more walls she built, the less she would get hurt, and the more she hurt and threatened others with her wealth and power, the less they would try to hurt her.

And it made her more mad because she willingly let her walls down for Mabel. She did it because she liked her and she wanted a friendship, some kind of pure connection with the girl.

_It wouldn't have worked. No one would have believed it._

But Mabel kissed her back, so she must like her too.

Pacifica felt her cheeks warm up.

_How can I fix this? For me? For everyone?_

_I need to be... generous._

_I need to..._

Pacifica gulped.

"I need to face my fears."

She didn't want to, but it wasn't about what she wanted anymore.

All her life, it had been about what Pacifica wanted, and she always got it.

And God knows how much she wanted Mabel.

But, no. She couldn't want her anymore. Mabel wasn't an object, she couldn't be bought or bargained for or auctioned off. She wasn't a prize to win. It would have made it so much easier if she was. But Pacifica knew better now, she had grown in the past month or so. She liked Mabel, she liked her like a person, a human being. And this morning, Pacifica sure as hell didn't treat her like one.

She looked at the clock, it was a quarter to one. Her day was halfway over. She needed to do something, she needed to apologize.

_Again._

_Well, you did make a fool out of yourself, AGAIN._

Pacifica groaned.

_BZZZRT._

Pacifica groaned, again.

She flipped open her phone, it was the same kid.

"Im too nervous 2 call u so i'll just text it. i like u alot, even if ur really mean 2 me. im srry if i grossed u out with this. i just like u alot."

Pacifica wanted to scowl. She wanted to call her friends and make fun of him. She wanted to call him up, ask him on a date and then not show up to it to humiliate him. She wanted to. But she wouldn't have liked it.

_It's not about what I want. Not anymore._

She decided to call the boy back.

She dialed the number and held the phone up to her ear.

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ri-_ "Uh h-hello?" A shaky voice answered.

"Hi."

"Umm, Pacifica?"

"Yes?"

"I like you."

"I know. I don't, though."

There was pause and a shuffle.

"I-I'm sorry. I feel stupid."

"You should. As anyone should feel. It feels ridiculous professing your love to someone when you have no idea if they feel the same."

"Uh... Are you making fun of me? I should have known you would... I'm so STUPID!"

"...I think you're brave."

"W-what?"

"You're brave, confessing your love to me. But, I think you should love someone better. Someone who isn't rude and selfish like me."

"I don't think that! I think you're nice deep down inside-"

"People don't like to see the flaws in the people they love..."

Another pause.

"I thought you'd make fun of me."

"I thought I would, too."

"So..."

"So goodbye, I hope you find someone who treats you... uh... decent."

"Y-you too, Pacifica. B-Bye."

She closed her phone and ended the call. She closed her eyes and sighed.

_I'm fixing things. This is fixing things..._

She began pulling out new clothes to change into, she had just noticed that she wasn't wearing her tee-shirt.

She thought again. She had been generous with that boy. She had given him something.

She had given him closure, an answer. She had given him something else to look forward to.

And it didn't feel painful.

She had to get to Mabel as quick as possible, before she thought too much about what she had said to her.

She couldn't keep doing this.

_Let them make fun of me! I deserve it._

_Let my reputation crumble, it was rotten anyway._

_I need you, Mabel. You made me feel real._

_And right now, I need to feel more real than anything._


	7. Soul Meets Body

Mabel never really thought things all the way through. She had also thought it was a good idea, leading her blindfolded great-uncle all the way up to the railing platform of the town's water tower.

However, Mabel did not expect the water tower to be punched in one of its supporters and sent teetering sideways, almost falling. She pressed her back firmly against the metal base of the tower, letting her hands try to get a grip on the smooth base.

Mabel was terrified, especially for a girl who never even batted an eye in the face of many life-threatening situations.

Grunkle Stan had managed to face his fear of heights this way, making it easy for him to climb down the water tower. But, poor Mabel was too horrified to move an inch.

As the sweat began to form against her hairline, her heartbeat soared rapidly.

_I can't move. I'll stay up here forever until the fire truck comes... or Superman._

She let out a shaky breath, sucking a fresh breath of air shortly after.

"Gr-r-runkle St-t-tan..." She stuttered, afraid of losing her grip.

"Don't worry, Mabel. I'll get ya!" Grunkle Stan called up, before grabbing onto the rungs of the ladder and hoisting his body up.

Just as the aging old man put a quick and forceful amount of strength into his upper body, he let out a loud yelp as a large bout of pain shot down his spine. As he was blinded by the unexpected and searing agony, he lost his grip on the ladder rungs and collapsed on the ground.

"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel cried, seeing her great-uncle in a immobile heap on the ground, yelling out in pain.

"I"m-AGH! I'm fine, Mabel," He said as he attempted to get up. "Just-Just give me a momen-AAUUGH!" He collapsed once again.

Mabel could feel her heart racing.

_I'm going to die here. I'm going to fall and die. I'm going to splat like a pancake._

_A Mabel pancake._

She shivered as a breeze blew past the tower, rocking it slightly.

Mabel screamed.

And in the distance, a young blonde heard the shrieks from afar.

Pacifica had been riding her bike back up to the Mystery Shack. She knew she had to apologize for her behavior that morning, she liked Mabel, a lot. She couldn't lose her over her own petty insecurities. As soon as she heard Mabel, she pedaled quickly toward the direction of the cries.

Another gust of wind, another scream.

Pacifica realized it was coming from the water tower. She pedaled over there as quickly as her legs would allow her. Her cheeks were turning red from all the blood flow, but she knew that she had to hurry.

As she drew closer to the lopsided tower, she looked up and saw her.

"Mabel!" Pacifica exhaled as loud as she could. She was out of breath and started pedaling faster, even as the muscles in her calves began to burn.

_CRREEEAAAAKK!_

Mabel whimpered and pressed her body harder against the base of the tower, feeling her body turn cold from all the fear. Her hands were slippery with sweat against the metal of the tower, but she was too scared to change her grip. The frightened girl's feet began to feel like bricks from all the weight she was putting on them.

The tower moved again.

Mabel screamed again.

_This is all my fault._

_This was such a stupid idea!_

_I'm so stupid. STUPID. STUPID. STUPID._

_What good was this? I still can't face my fears and it doesn't even matter anymore._

"MABEL!" A familiar voice called.

Mabel gulped and slowly looked down.

"Mabel, don't move!" Pacifica called up, getting off of her bike.

The blonde's hair was a complete mess and she looked like she had just ran a hundred laps around the whole town. If Mabel wasn't fearing for her life at the moment, she would have thought it was incredibly funny. The sweater girl's eyes focused on Pacifica briefly before snapping them back up at the sky, there was no way she was going to look down. It was getting dark and Mabel was selflessly worrying about Grunkle Stan more than herself.

"P-Pacifca, call for help!"

Pacifcia fumbled quickly around her jacket pockets before finding her cell phone. She hurriedly dialed 911 and went to check on Grunkle Stan. He seemed to be alternating between conciousness and passing out again. She winced at the thought of feeling that type of pain.

_I never want to get old._

Pacifica's attention quickly focused back on the emergency operator she was talking to.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"My... my... girlfriend is trapped on the town's water tower. One of its beams is badly damaged and it will most likely collapse. Her great-uncle also needs medical attention, too.

"The water tower? The fire department and medical team will be there immediately."

"Okay, thank you. Please hurry."

Pacifica closed her phone and called back up to Mabel.

"Help is on the way, Mabel!"

Mabel let out a shaky breath before quickly inhaling again as she felt another gust of wind move the tower.

The fire department and medics eventually arrived after an agonizing wait for both Mabel and Pacifica.

As a fireman carried Mabel down the ladder, the paramedics were doing tests on Grunkle Stan, making sure that he was alright.

"We will have to take you great-uncle to the hospital to help with his back injury," The head medic said to Mabel. "The injury isn't too major, the physical therapist should be able to help him in no time!"

"I'm sorry I couldn't help ya, Mabel." Grunkle Stan called from the back of the ambulance. "I let ya down, kid."

"It's okay, Grunkle Stan! You're still the best great-uncle in my eyes!" Mabel smiled.

"Fantastic, kiddo. Hey, tell Pacifica that I'm sorry about all the cruddy things I said to her this morning and that she can come over anytime she wants."

"Will do, Grunkle Stan! Me and Dipper will be waiting for you at the shack!"

Grunkle Stan let out a laugh as the medics closed the doors.

"Do you need a ride back home, miss?" The head medic leaned out of the driver's window.

"I think I'll be able to walk home from here, I'm just happy to be on the ground." Mabel replied, smiling weakly.

She glanced over at Pacifica who was staring out into the distance as she leaned against her bicycle. She came up quietly behind the blonde, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Pacifica snapped up at the sudden touch; startled, she turned around.

"Thank you. Thank you so much Pacifica." Mabel managed to say before throwing her arms around the girl, burying her face in her shoulder.

"Y-you're welcome, Mabel..." The blonde replied faintly, heartbeat racing at the girl's touch.

"You saved my life!" Mabel couldn't help but smile even after everything that had happened with the water tower and between them.

Pacifica bit her lip hesitantly before finally burying her face in the silly girl's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Mabel," The blonde's voice cracked and quavered. "For all the trouble I've caused you, you didn't deserve it... I can't treat people right- I never could. And you have gotten the worst of it."

"Pacifica, you  _can_  treat people right, you  _can_  be nice... you just second-guess yourself." Mabel comforted the crying girl, her body still shaking from being trapped on the tower. "You can do good things and I know you want to and know it's hard for you because of your 'rep' and stuff. But, when you gave me that crown; the same crown that you had fought so hard to get. When you showed up at the door in a tee-shirt with no make-up and all that other junk, I didn't see the richest, most popular girl in Gravity Falls. I saw  _you._ "

There was a pause.

"It felt so nice to give you that crown," Pacifica finally said, her voice faltering and unsure. "It felt nice and I didn't feel mean and hurtful for once."

_Okay, here it goes. Don't screw it up._

"I have often said to myself... well  _thought_ to myself I guess, that after meeting you and falling hopelessly in love with you, I have felt...  _real_. It sounds kind of ridiculous now that I've said it out loud, but it's true. I bullied you and tormented you the worst of all because for once in my life I finally realized that I wasn't anything close to my own definition of perfect. In fact, I was the furthest away from it. And I doubted and doubted this idea and tried to twist it and contort it into something else. But God, this sounds stupid. I realized that I... I like you. I genuinely like you! And I love you. Well, in whatever my weird definition of that is too. And I never felt like this or thought like this and you changed it and I feel so much relief and I-"

"I love you too."

Pacifica's eyes widened, she looked at Mabel.

"I-"

"You're such a dork," Mabel booped the blonde's nose with the palm of her hand. "BAP!"

Pacifica laughed.

Not maliciously, not spitefully.

Pacifica felt her eyes water, she felt a weight lifted, and she laughed.

"I'm a dork! You're a dork! We can both be dorks, both of us!" Pacifica smiled, she felt her cheeks rise and crinkle her eyes.

"We can be dork girlfriends, too!" Mabel exclaimed. "I mean, if you want to."

"I would love to be your dork girlfriend. That sounds nice." The blonde replied.

Pacifica pressed her lips against her dorky girlfriend's, smiling.

The sun was high in the sky, the day was still young.

"Let's go!" Mabel finally exclaimed.

"Where?"

"Anywhere we want! But let's go back to the Mystery Shack first, Dipper is probably worried and we have a  _lot_ of explaining to do."

"That sounds great." Pacifica took the brunette's hand, intertwining her fingers with her own as they began to walk down the hill. She swung Mabel's hand playfully, the silly girl let out a blush and a laugh. The blonde figured she would come back for her bike later, she had much more important things to attend to.

They smiled.

_This is real._

_And this is perfect._

* * *

_**If anyone is interested, the chapter titles are actually song titles from the band Death Cab for Cutie. If you are a big fan of indie rock, I highly suggest you give them a listen!** _


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